Incomplete
by Valentine'sNinja
Summary: She was everything that he had ever wanted or needed, but without her, he was incomplete. JackCarly, fifty drabbles.
1. Torture

**Title:** Incomplete  
**Rating:** T  
**Word Count:** 519  
**Prompt:** 35 - Torture  
**Summary:** He wanted desperately to know what plagued her when she went to sleep. Post Dark Signer Arc.  
**A/N:** This is my first venture into this universe, but after seeing the duel between Dark Carly and Jack last weekend, I couldn't resist. So, I got my buddy ObsessiveCompulsiveValkyrie to give me fifty word prompts and here we are. Feel free to point out any errors, since I've seen very few episodes in English and Japanese, so expect these to be a mix of both. Most will be less than a thousand words and more than likely AU, and will range in rating, but I hope everyone enjoys. Also, big thanks to OCV for looking this over!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of the characters used in this piece of fiction. I am making no money off of them.

…

Having practically moved in with Carly following the events with the Dark Signers, Jack had been woken many times on random nights. Sometimes it had been to soft whimpers, other times to muttered words. This time it had been to the sound of her gasps and hitching breaths. Leaning up on an elbow, he shook her and watched her come awake with a jerk and a muffled scream.

"What's going on?" he asked, violet eyes narrowed.

"I… I'm not sure," said Carly, scrambling for her glasses in order to clear her vision.

Reaching a long arm across her, Jack removed the frames from her nightstand and handed them over to her, impatient. "You were having a nightmare. What was it about?"

He wasn't really asking, she mused; he was pretty much demanding to know. Carly was silent for a moment, blinking into the darkness and realizing that the blurriness in her vision was being caused by tears. "I can't remember," she said, voice quiet and trembling.

Shifting his much taller frame, he pulled her into his arms and wrapped himself around her tightly, reassuring her without words that he was there for her. It was like torture to not be able to help her once again, and it made him feel like a monumental failure. Here was the girl who would've given anything for him and he could do nothing to rid her of nightmares.

He wanted desperately to know what plagued her when she went to sleep, though he had an inkling as to what it could be. Allowing Carly's dark, silky hair to rub against the side of his face, Jack held her for a long time, hoping she would find sleep soon.

Against his wrist, her heart was still pounding, her frame trembling lightly, and he wondered if he would ever be able to help her when she needed it. After all, he was a man with many shortcomings, and caring for someone other than himself was proving to be something entirely new and difficult. There were times when he didn't know _what_ it was that he was doing. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts then.

"Hmm… Goodnight, Jackie," she whispered, settling in against his side.

The nickname sent chills down his spine; his brain calling forward memories of the duel against Dark Carly. It brought up his helplessness, his failure to save her. It also made him think of what their lives would've been like had he lost the duel to her. They would've lived as King and Queen of that hell… but, at what cost? The death of the human race? Their friends? _Themselves?_

His lips bumped against her shoulder and he allowed her cinnamon scent to bring him back to the present and to a different outcome. He would help her, and if he had anything else to say about it, he would _always_ be around to protect her from danger.

"…Goodnight, Carly," he murmured after a long moment, wondering what hell she relived when her subconscious took over.

Curling tighter into him, Carly smiled in her sleep.


	2. Noble

**Prompt:** 40 - Noble  
******Rating:** K+**  
****Word Count:** 514**  
****Summary:** He hated when Martha made sense.  
**A/N: **Here's my second drabble. I'm really enjoying writing these, so hopefully next one will be up soon. Thank you so much for the review and please enjoy!

…

"Nagisa!"

Muffling a shriek of surprise, the mug in Carly's hands tumbled to the floor and splintered the glass, brown liquid splattering the clean floor. "J-Jack!" she cried, placing a hand to her thumping heartbeat. "Oh, Geez. I'm sorry!"

Jack watched in annoyance as she floundered around Martha's no longer pristine kitchen. "Useless," he muttered under his breath, watching the way her slim shoulders stiffened at the word.

Martha stepped into the kitchen to find Jack towering over Carly as she attempted to pick up shattered glass from the floor. "What happened, dear?"

"I'm sorry!" Carly said quickly, bowing her head. "I'm just so darned clumsy." At those words, she groaned in pain as a shard of the mug split the skin of her palm and crimson began to pool there.

Jack sighed in irritation and grabbed a paper towel from nearby to press gently over Carly's wound, his eyes on her hand and his touch a bit rough. "Haven't you learned to be a bit more careful?" he asked.

Carly swallowed the surge of uncharacteristic anger and pulled her hand out of his grasp, noticing the twitch in his left eyebrow. "Thanks, Jack. I'm fine," she said before she quickly left the kitchen.

Martha eyed the boy she had practically raised as her own and sighed softly, noticing the peeved expression on his face. "Maybe you should just tell her."

"Tell her what?" asked Jack, aloof.

These boys of hers were a bunch of hardheaded fools, she mused. "That you would've made the sacrifice. That you would've died _with_ her, if only she had given you the chance to do so."

"That is none of Carly's business," Jack replied, tone short of being condescending. After all, this was the only mother he had known for years; he respected her.

"It _is_ her business. She has no idea of what transpired between the two of you and that duel. As far as she knows, you still think of her as an irritating reporter. A _paparazzi._"

He hated when Martha made sense, but telling Carly that she had nearly killed him wasn't something he ever wanted to do. She would never forgive herself, and Jack wouldn't be able to put that weight over her shoulders. Carly didn't deserve it and he would be damned if he put the woman he… loved in that kind of situation. It had been easier to fall back to the patterns of the time before the Dark Signers.

"You love her… don't you?" Martha asked him softly, settling a hand on his arm. At his silence she squeezed. "Jack?"

"Yes," he breathed, tone low.

"Then tell her. You're a noble man who deserves happiness. You're also one of my sons," she said with a smile. "She's a good girl who loves you just as much. Don't make the mistake of pushing her away."

With that, Martha set about cleaning up what remained of the spill and watched as Jack swept out of the room, hoping that he found the courage and strength to enjoy the freedom of being in love.


	3. Denial

**Prompt:** 26 - Denial  
**Rating: **K+  
**Word Count: **622  
**Summary: **_"What are you wearing?"  
_**A/N:** First off, big thank you to Animad345 and carlyxjack for reviewing. I'm very happy that you enjoyed these enough to review! Next, another thanks to OCValkyrie for looking this drabble over once more. I'm having so much fun with these, and so far, they're turning out to be post-Dark Signers Arc… maybe the next one will be pre-Carly's death. Also, be aware that the rating on some drabbles might me different in the future. Please enjoy!

…

His eyes had refused to see it at first, but then, after several blinks, he had realized what it was that he was looking at. "What are you wearing?" he nearly choked, unpleasant and painful memories resurfacing.

Carly whirled to look at him and her glasses dropped from her nose and to the floor. "Jack, you're early!" she said cheerfully. _And it appears that he still kept a key to my place_, she thought inwardly.

Jack couldn't think straight. He had walked into her apartment and her bedroom to catch her looking at herself in the mirror wearing… wearing _those_ colors. "I asked what you were wearing," he said darkly.

The dark-haired reporter looked down at her clothes and shrugged. It was a change from her usual outfit, but she didn't think she looked half bad. "I like the colors! Don't you think they look okay on me?"

Jack blinked and for a moment saw an image of Dark Carly in her the Dark Signer clothes superimposed over her smiling face. Her eyes were hazy blue and they added to the illusion. She was a beautiful woman, but he would give anything to not have to see Dark Carly ever again, even in nightmares.

Carly tugged at her black jacket and orange turtle neck, self-conscious. "I thought you'd like it," she said quietly, ducking her head.

The blond moved to her side and picked up her glasses, placing them on her face carefully once more. "What was wrong with the way you looked before?" he asked.

"I wanted a change," Carly said with a shrug, the smile coming back to her lips.

"I don't want you to change," he said severely.

She looked up at him and the woman he saw was _his_ Carly and not the Dark Signer who had been intent on killing him. "Will you at least tell me why you don't like me in these colors?"

"I—" Jack hesitated, unsure of what to say. He had never been big on compliment, especially on other people, but this was Carly. Here was the woman he would've gone to hell for—even if she couldn't remember it. "Carly."

"Heh…" she forced out a laugh. "Don't worry about it, Jack. It's kind of obvious that almost _all _colors don't go well with me."

He absolutely despised the self-deprecating tone in her voice. "Carly," Jack started once more, taking her shoulders and turning her back around to look at him when she tried to move away. "I—enjoy seeing you in blue."

There, that hadn't been so bad, right? And besides, the blush on her cheeks was endearing, he thought with a smirk.

"Uh… thanks, Jack!" she exclaimed, trying to worm away out of embarrassment.

"Promise me one thing?" Jack said, not so much a question, but more like a demand.

"Alright," she said, uncertain.

"Don't wear anything that's black and orange."

"Not even for Halloween?" Carly asked, pouting slightly.

Jack shook his blond head one time, a sharp movement.

"What if I want to dress up as a pumpkin?"

"That doesn't mean you have to wear black… just orange."

His matter-of-fact tone made her laugh. "Oh! I know! Maybe I can dress up as you," she said waggling her eyebrows. He gave her a withering look. Carly laughed nervously. "Or not. Okay… maybe I'll just dress up as Yusei, then!"

If possible, Jack's eyes seemed to darken with purple fire, then narrowed when she shrank back. Before she could scurry off, he grabbed her forearms and pulled her close, giving her a hard kiss. Carly stared with dazed eyes as Jack began to walk out of her room.

"Don't even think about it," he muttered, smirking at the stunned look on her face.


End file.
